The Light That Came Too Late

Chapter 5 The Price of Dignity

My father caught sight of me standing trapped in the center of the crowd, clothes torn and barely covering me, and his eyes flared bright red with panic.

But he looked far too filthy, far too broken.

His rubber shoes were shredded from the long mountain trek, and mud streaked every inch of his face.

To these elegant, perfectly dressed guests, he appeared less like a father and more like a deranged intruder, some kind of thug.

A security guard swung his baton hard and cracked it across my father's head.

Blood spurted out, soaking his gray hair crimson.

"Dad!"

Terror seized me completely. My mouth filled with bloody foam, and my words came out slurred and broken.

Damian remained utterly blind to everything. He still clutched my arm in a death grip and barked, "Marisa, stop making a scene right now! Apologize to Flora! You attacked her first!"

He could not see the way a daughter's heart was splintering into pieces, and he did not care about anything that truly mattered to me.

All he wanted was to smooth things over and keep the peace.

Flora sobbed dramatically, tears streaming down her face like a delicate flower battered by rain. "Marisa got angry that the donation was too small, so she shoved me and hit me! Damian, I'm so scared."

A woman with short hair snatched up a thick wad of cash and hurled it straight at my head and face.

"Aren't you just in it for the money? Stop pretending this is some pure romance! You're lower than a hooker—at least they're honest about their price!"

I no longer had the slightest desire to explain a single word.

"Call 911... somebody call 911!"

My scalding tears splashed onto the back of Damian's hand, and he froze.

"Marisa..."

The room swirled with noise and chaos. After what felt like an eternity, he suddenly flung his cane aside and spoke with heavy solemnity. "Marisa, the truth is I..."

"Damian!" Flora cut him off sharply and yanked the surgery consent form from my coat pocket. "Marisa has been lying to you the whole time! She thinks you're poor and blind, and she has already decided to terminate the pregnancy!"

Gasps of shock rippled through the entire hall.

"Marisa, you don't deserve to call yourself a mother! Destroying an innocent life just for a little cash!"

There stood Flora in her million-dollar custom gown and seven-figure jewels, pronouncing judgment on me with perfect righteous fury.

Yet I was a woman in the final stages of cancer who could not even afford folic acid for her baby, and Damian did not care about any of it.

He gripped my arm so tightly his fingers dug in, his voice raw. "You... really planned that?"

In that moment, I must have been too quiet, because he had no idea of the agony tearing through me.

"Yes. I will not bring her into the world."

Damian's face turned deathly pale. He smashed the cane down at my feet with savage force, sending fragments flying in every direction.

"Marisa... I never thought you could be so vain and heartless."

Then he turned and strode away without looking back.

But I laughed with wild, liberated joy.

I laughed until blood clots choked me, until fresh tears poured down my cheeks.

I laughed hardest at his stupidity and his cruelty.

Someone cried out in horror, "Oh my God... all that blood. She's not going to die, is she?"

Flora gave a contemptuous little laugh and waved for everyone to follow her out.

"Who cares about her? She's not even fit to lick my shoes! The game is over. Whether she lives or dies means nothing to us."

Trembling, I fished out my phone and first dialed 911 to save my father.

Then, summoning every last ounce of strength, I called Caitlin.

"Caitlin, I cannot hold on any longer... after the induction, send me straight to the secret trial center."

Caitlin answered without hesitation.

Right before they wheeled me into the operating room, my phone began vibrating frantically.

It was Damian's ringtone, ringing with desperate urgency that bordered on panic.

I simply watched the screen light up and fade, over and over.

Only when the nurse gently reminded me did I calmly remove the SIM card and toss it aside.

As the anesthesia flowed into my veins, my blurring vision met a cold gleam from the window.

I faintly heard Caitlin's delighted voice. "That boy just confessed... he told me I'm about to have a grandson!"

Then came a sharp clatter as the scalpel dropped onto the tray.

The nurse's voice shook. "Mrs. Crawford, look..."

Caitlin followed the direction of her trembling finger, and in the next instant, her smile froze solid on her face.